My Teavivre pu-erh order FINALLY arrived today!
I got the sampler that has 5 different pu-erhs. What I know about pu-erhs you can fit into a thimble, so tonight after work, I reached into the bag and went with the first sample I grabbed. It was this one.
There’s two little mini-cakes per sample bag. I love the mini tuochas, they’re kind of adorable. They smell great, too – a bit of a black-tea-like sweetness, but the main tone is a misty wood-like smell. Tree bark comes to mind. I did not do a rinse on this one. The steeping instructions said boiling water, 3 to 10 minutes. Excellent!
Twenty or so minutes later, I decided to get off the couch and finally take a sip. Next time I do a first steep on this, I am going to stick to the parameters Teavivre recommended. It’s still really cool tasting: that thick, earthy flavor, tempted to be fishy but not quite there. However, it’s a little on the astringent side, and I’ve got a feeling that’s because of how long I steeped it. Pu-erhs are generally considered forgiving, but some things do have their limits. I’m looking forward to trying the second infusion.
I got this sampler because I’ve been curious about the potential of pu-erhs. To the casual tea drinker, a lot of the adjectives used to describe pu-erh teas sound absolutely outlandish, but they’ve always seemed like the great ones could be so intriguing, complex, evocative, and (god I hate this adjective) grown-up. A little too much time in the teapot aside, this one did not disappoint. Give me a couple of times with this and it could very easily become a favorite.
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Think of it this way… how grown up can it be if we describe it as dirt, moss, barn yard, fishy, or manure, etc. etc. and then we dare each other to try it. Sure sounds like a bunch of us reclaiming childhood to me. :)
Haha, true! I hadn’t thought of it that way!
puerhs are so much fun :)
Think of it this way… how grown up can it be if we describe it as dirt, moss, barn yard, fishy, or manure, etc. etc. and then we dare each other to try it. Sure sounds like a bunch of us reclaiming childhood to me. :)
Haha, true! I hadn’t thought of it that way!
puerhs are so much fun :)